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Create: Chicken Soup for the Spring Cold

Spring has been temperamental with its steamy, humid highs and cool, rainy lows. As a result it seems like just about everyone I know has suffered from some sort of cold or cough, myself included. So a few weeks ago when my niece and I both came down with whatever this blah is, I churned out a giant cauldron of chicken noodle soup.

I packed it up in large Mason jars and froze one for later. Later being today. The blah and the rain crept back in and I needed to seek the comfort that can only be found in a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

I adapted this Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup recipe from an old issue of Bon Appétit. If you cook up a pot let me know how you customize it.

16 cups low-salt* chicken broth

5 bone-in chicken breasts

1/2 cup chopped onion

4-6 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

2 tablespoons butter

1&1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (I used shitake)

8 ounces dried wide egg noodles

2 tablespoons (or more to taste) fresh thyme

Combine chicken broth and chicken in heavy large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover partially and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to large bowl. Cool chicken and broth slightly. Discard skin and bones from chicken. Cut chicken meat into bite-size pieces, season with salt and pepper and reserve. Spoon fat off top of chicken broth.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms to broth; stir in noodles, thyme and reserved chicken. Simmer until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a fresh loaf of bread.

*I used low-salt broth and 2 out of 4 of us said it needed more salt. I had a cold so I could not accurately judge. Perhaps next time I’ll use a few cups of full sodium broth.